Background: Difficulties in communication and reciprocal social behavior are core features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and are often present, to varying degrees, in other family members. This prospective longitudinal infant sibling study examines whether social-communicative features of family members may inform which infants are at…

More and more learners of English from the Expanding Circle are travelling to Outer Circle contexts to learn English or to improve their English proficiency. This is also the case for some Korean families who moved to Potchefstroom, South Africa. This phenomenon poses challenges in terms of assessment of English proficiency, and emphasizes the…

Though international teachers have been present in U.S. schools for decades, their recruitment for urban schools as a response to the supposed teacher shortage is a relatively new phenomenon with little research to support it. This study examines international teachers' recruitment and preparation for urban environments. Informed by classroom…

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the types and frequency of conversational repairs used by African American (AA) children in relationship to their geographic locations and levels of performance on commonly used speech-language measures. Method: The strategies used to initiate repairs and respond to repair requests were identified in…

The United States continues to lag behind other countries in its adoption of health information technology. A failure to increase adoption will jeopardize the nation's ability to reduce medical errors, address the rapid growth of healthcare costs, and enact effective healthcare reform. Health information technology (HIT) implementation success…

Introduction: The relationship between mental health, behaviour and language development is widely recognized in the literature. Recent advances in assessment tools allows one to consider the role of pragmatic language skills in this co-occurrence. Aims: This pilot study aimed to investigate (1) the level of association between pragmatic language…

Background: The UK government set up a review of provision for children and young people with the full range of speech, language and communication needs led by a Member of Parliament, John Bercow. A research study was commissioned to provide empirical evidence to inform the Bercow Review. Aims: To examine the efficiency and effectiveness of…

Background: Parent report instruments are frequently used for the identification of both "at-risk" children and to support the diagnosis of communication delay. Whilst the evidence is strong for the accuracy of parent report of vocabulary between 2 and 3 years, there are fewer studies that have considered the ability of parents to report…

Background: Huntington's disease not only affects motor speech control, but also may have an impact on the ability to produce and understand language in communication. Aims: The ability to comprehend basic and complex discourse was investigated in three different stages of Huntington's disease. Methods & Procedures: In this experimental group…

Michael is a 6-year-old boy with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). He and the other children in his class have delays in their verbal and nonverbal communication skills and difficulty with social interactions. Higgins and Eliza are two lovable cockapoos who help young children with ASD learn new words, expand the length of their sentences, try…

This is an ethnographic case study of the inclusion of a fifteen-year-old male with severe disabilities in general education classes in a four-year high school in a medium-sized Midwestern city. The study took place during the student's freshman and sophomore years. The investigator interviewed 17 of the participants in the student's inclusion;…

Objective: This study assessed the implementation of psychiatry morbidity and mortality rounds (M&Ms) on the clinical and educational practice in a children's hospital. Methods: Attendees to monthly M&Ms between July 2005 and May 2007 included staff and trainees from psychiatry, psychology, nursing, and social work. Cases were selected based on a…

Because scientific understanding of communicating family research to policymakers is incomplete, qualitative interviews were conducted with social scientists experienced in bridging the gulf between research and family policy. In keeping with the tenets of 2 communities and community dissonance theories, the underutilization of research in…

An exciting multi-agency project to create a future for children with Down syndrome where they can more effectively express their opinions. This work recognises the need to remove barriers and push boundaries associated with the reduced ability to verbalise and was planned to give every child with Down syndrome in mainstream schooling in…

This study overviews current threats to the sustainability of the outsourced call center industry in the Philippines and discusses implications for macro and micro language policies given the use of English in this cross-cultural interactional context. This study also summarizes the present state of outsourced call centers in the Philippines, and…